Town of Princeton, MA
Meeting Minutes
Thomas Prince Middle School Enrollment Study Committee
February 8, 2011
Town Hall Annex
Members present were Toryn Bright, Laura Gal, Larry Greene, Matt Lindberg, Larry Pistrang, Dawn Sulmasy, and Carla Volturo. Also present was Selectman Edie Morgan, Princeton WRSD Committee member Michelle Scibarassi, Thomas Prince School Principal Mary Cringan, and Town Administrator John Lebeaux. Chairman Pistrang called the meeting to order at 7:04 PM.
Acceptance of Minutes
The Committee unanimously voted to approve the minutes of February 3, 2011.
Meet with Mary Cringan
Mary commented on the survey that she was happy with the response rate and noted no real surprises in the results. She did offer that Question 7 had such a close rate of response for and against that it may be too close to derive much from that answer. She outlined her concerns for a middle school model in which the same teacher teaches the same students for three years. Laura asked about before school programs in other District towns. Mary informed the Committee that in Holden and Rutland the program is run by the municipal Recreation Departments. There are no before school programs in Paxton and Sterling. In Princeton, Mary runs all aspects of the after school program. She cited challenges with a before school program including custodial contracts. Responding to a question about the survey response to a magnet or
theme-based approach, Mary reminded the Committee how poorly such a program was received by Princeton residents in the recent past. Dawn commented that one can’t discern if that question was mostly answered positively to enhance curriculum or to attract out of town students.
Toryn expressed her belief that a District operated busing service from other District towns to Thomas Prince would attract students. Michelle commented that a bus route has a rough cost of $45,000 per year. Carla offered that some programmatic offering is also necessary. Mary explained that attracting out of district students is relatively easier than attracting in district out of town students because there are those dissatisfied with their home district but most WRSD families are generally happy with their hometown school. Mary did mention that the K-8 program at Thomas Prince is attractive to many out of towners.
Toryn asked Mary when she prefers to split a population into two smaller sections rather than one larger. She responded it was her preference that 15 is the largest size. Presently there are 16 registered for the 2011-2012 Kindergarten class at Thomas Prince, 9 in full-day and 7 in half-day. Dawn raised the point that a school could have a total population that was small but that individual sections could still be larger than preferable. Edie inquired how many in-district out of towners currently attend Thomas Prince (exclusive of Kindergarten). There is presently one student, a Sterling resident.
Mary informed the Committee that there are no classrooms that are vacant, but some are now used for band, occupational therapy, physical therapy and similar services.
Mary summarized her sense of the WRSD administration’s positions: that it is concerned about future Thomas Prince enrollments at all grade levels, but particularly at grades 7 and 8; that it favors moving Princeton’s 7th and 8th graders to Mountview as a long-term solution; that it is concerned with the use of school choice as a solution to Thomas Prince enrollment issues; and that it does not embrace the concept of establishing a specialized program at Thomas Prince for gifted and talented students from throughout the District.
Preparation for meeting with Dr. Pandiscio
The Committee discussed how it wanted to conduct the meeting. It was agreed that there would not be a single spokesperson but that all members will participate. The Committee agreed that it wanted to learn about how the Federal Race to the Top program affects Thomas Prince specifically. Michelle suggested and the Committee agreed with her that the Committee should seek a potential solution that positively affects the entire District and not only Princeton.
Discuss Final Report Framework
The Committee saw no need to change previous planning and schedule.
Public Comment
None.
Future Meeting Dates
The Committee will next meet February 15 at 7 PM, and March 15 at 730 PM in the Town Hall Annex.
The Committee unanimously voted to adjourn at 9 PM.
Respectively submitted,
John Lebeaux
Town Administrator
Referenced Documents
Minutes of February 3, 2011
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